Pilots' efforts to stop plane were delayed, investigators say

Vital seconds were lost while trying to bring a Southwest Airlines plane to a halt on a slick runway at Midway Airport because a balky switch delayed deployment of devices that reverse the thrust of the jet's powerful engines, investigators said Saturday.

In the first account by the pilots of the Thursday night accident, the captain of Southwest Flight 1248 told investigators the flight from Baltimore was "completely normal" until he landed the plane at the Southwest Side airport.

A control on the throttle to activate the twin-engine plane's thrust reversers would not slide into place, the 59-year-old veteran pilot told investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board.

At that point, the first officer in the right seat of the cockpit leaned over and was able to deploy the thrust reversers while the captain applied full braking power to try stopping the plane.

The thrust reversers redirect engine power forward to slow the aircraft, and work in conjunction with automatic brakes that investigators said activated immediately upon landing the 737-700. Flaps on the wings, called spoilers, also help kill speed. Investigators say the spoilers were working.

When the captain saw that they were running out of runway, he also used his brake pedals to provide extra stopping power, said Robert Benzon, the investigator in charge.

The captain told safety board investigators he was concerned about the weather in Chicago, but was unaware of the "unique weather phenomenon" that was occurring around them. National Weather Service forecasters told the safety board that an "enhanced snowbank" was coming into the Chicago area at the same time the plane was flying toward the Midwest.

Officials are not releasing the pilots' names.

Visibility was about two-thirds the length of the runway at Midway when Flight 1248 descended through low-hanging clouds, and the flashing lights of the airfield below became visible in the blowing snow, according to new data received Saturday.

Working backward from Thursday night, when the aircraft smashed through an airfield barrier and rammed vehicles on Central Avenue, investigators have sifted through data from the cockpit and flight recorders, air-traffic radar and weather advisories to create a second-by-second chronology.

One major unanswered question is where the plane, gaining speed due to a tailwind, touched down in the landing zone on the first third of the 6,522-foot runway.

The plane needed to land within about the first 2,170 feet of the runway to stop on the snow-slicked surface, which was rated "fair" to "poor" for aircraft-braking ability by the pilot who landed several minutes in front of Flight 1248, transportation officials said.

Investigators still want to know whether the plane crossed the runway threshold at the correct altitude and speed--or if it was too high and too fast--and how much those factors reduced the pilots' ability to bring the aircraft to a safe stop.

Joshua Woods, 6, was killed, and his parents, Leroy and Lisa, and two brothers were injured when their car was crushed by the plane. Their attorney Ronald Stearney said Leroy Woods was released Saturday from Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. He said Leroy Woods suffered one fracture at the back of his skull and four under his right eye.

Steven Peters, Joshua Woods' uncle, said the family's main focus is now on preparing to bury Joshua. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Saturday's snowfall and weather conditions, although drastically less threatening than Thursday's conditions, contributed to many airline delays and cancellations at both Chicago airports.

At Midway, Southwest Airlines had canceled all flights by about 6 p.m. Saturday, said company spokeswoman Linda Rutherford. She said Thursday's crash did not factor into the company's decision.

Rich Brumer, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office in Romeoville, said Saturday's conditions were more conducive to airplane travel.

"The temperature is about the same, but the snowfall is much less," Brumer said. "The winds are a little stronger, but visibility and the ceiling is much better."

As of 7 p.m. Saturday, the Chicago Department of Aviation said about 60 Midway flights had been canceled and at least seven flights diverted elsewhere because of poor weather conditions and only one operable runway.

On average, Midway has about 300 departures a day.

At O'Hare, United Airlines and American Airlines reported delays of up to 90 minutes and at least six cancellations.

Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration worked Saturday to replace an aircraft-guidance antenna that was knocked out during the crash. The equipment, which guides planes down a glide path to the airport, is needed before the runway on which the accident occurred, 31 Center, can be reopened. The runway was expected to be back in service Sunday.

Mayor Richard Daley said Saturday that he did not want to examine the idea of expanding runway safety areas at Midway until the board completes its investigation.

"This airport has been very safe. Southwest Airlines has been a safe company," Daley said at a news conference.

Daley sought to reassure residents living around the airport that the area is safe.

"They've lived there for so many years and there's not been many accidents," he said. "More people are killed on expressways, so would we shut down expressways?"